NSS Urges Swift Passage of Commercial Space Act of 2003 (October 15, 2003)
A coalition led by the National Space Society and other space organizations is helping to
advance legislation that will clarify and streamline a muddled and uncertain regulatory regime
faced by the emerging American suborbital space flight industry. The Commercial Space
Act of 2003 (HR 3245) has been approved by the House Space & Aeronautics Subcommittee,
but still needs approval by the full Science Committee before going to the floor for a vote.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Rep. Ralph Hall (D-TX) and Rep. Bart Gordon
(D-TN), directs the Secretary of Transportation to set up an enabling regulatory regime for
commercial human space flight, separate from that under which the FAA governs commercial aviation.
The coalition issued a statement to demonstrate
its common purpose and objective.

An executive briefing on the suborbital industry
is available online. You can also read more about the legislation at
Spaceref.com.

NSS members are encouraged to contact their U.S. Representatives and ask them to cosponsor HR 3245
so that it can continue advancing in the legislative process. You can locate your Member of
Congress at www.congress.org.

FAA Regulatory Logjam Stifles Private Rocketeers (July 17, 2003)
The emerging suborbital rocket business has to overcome federal government regulatory hurdles
to be successful, reports Space.com. NSS is playing a leading role in a coalition to help
overcome these hurdles and help foster the growth of the suborbital launch industry.

"The U.S. suborbital rocket industry has the potential to develop a world-dominating business
base in commercial space tourism," said Brian Chase, executive director of the National
Space Society (NSS), and a coalition member. "In the near future, space will be open to
the public, changing how citizens view space transportation and exploration. NSS is committed
to helping ensure government policies and regulations help, not hinder, this fledgling industry,"
Chase said.

Space Adventures Announces First Private Soyuz Flights (June 18, 2003)
Commercial space flight took a giant leap forward today with the announcement by NSS partner
Space Adventures, Ltd., the leading space experiences company, of its plans to launch the
world's first privately funded
mission
to the International Space Station (ISS). Space Adventures recently secured a contract
with the Russian Aviation & Space Agency (RASA) to fly two explorers to the ISS aboard a new
Soyuz TMA spacecraft. The mission, Space Adventures-1 (SA-1), continues the company's record
of opening the space frontier to explorers other than government astronauts and cosmonauts.
The company brokered the flights for the world's first private space explorers, American businessman
Dennis Tito in 2001, and the first African in space, Mark Shuttleworth, in 2002. SA-1 has the
potential to establish several world records, and also marks the first private mission to the
International Space Station.
Read more on CNN,
or the BBC.

Techies Race
to Suborbital Space (June 11, 2003)
The $10 million X Prize, to the first team that sends three people 100 kilometers above Earth
twice in two weeks, is inspiring a shift from cyberspace to outer space.

NSS And Space Adventures Team Up To Support Commercial Space Exploration (August 14, 2002)
The National Space Society (NSS) and Space Adventures, Ltd., have announced a joint program to
promote commercial space exploration and to advance the day when humans will live and work in
space. The two organizations will work together on a number of space tourism initiatives
including joint conferences and events. The partnership is also intended to provide NSS
members with unique benefits and to bring space advocates closer to the next frontier through a
number of Space Adventures' experiences. NSS members will receive discounts on select
programs such as terrestrial tours, zero-gravity and supersonic jet flights, and sub-orbital space
flights. Space Adventures will also operate an NSS members-only tour. Read the
full press release.